How to Design the Perfect Logo (Infographic) From striking shapes to magnetic fonts, to cunning hidden imagery and beyond, here are all of the juicy ingredients you need to cook up a high-impact logo.

By Kim Lachance Shandrow

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Close your eyes and imagine Apple's logo. Now think of Nike's. How about Target's? We're willing to bet that you conjured up images for each in your mind's eye in less than a second or so. They're that memorable.

As you can see, logos are so much more than simple symbols. They're epic icons. Logos are the face of your company, the deliverers of the all-important lasting impression, crucial visual representations of your business, what you do and what you're about. Accordingly, the utmost care and meticulousness should be taken when designing yours. If you already have a logo, the same goes for redesigning it. Spare no attention to detail.

Related: 10 Questions to Ask When Designing Your Company's Logo

From the font to the color, to the use of negative space and beyond, the aesthetic elements of a logo greatly impact how your company (and its offerings) are perceived by customers.

Does it attract them or repel them? Does it stand out or fade into the background? Does it distinctly identify your brand or confuse it with your competitors? These are all critical questions to ask during the research and design phase, but far from the only ones, only a smattering of the main ingredients for the master recipe for cooking up a successful logo.

Check out the famous logo-packed CompanyFolders infographic below for a complete list of specific, actionable tips and ideas to help you design the best logo possible for your brand.

Click to Enlarge+
design business logo (Infographic)

Related: Need a New Website or Logo? Design Trends for 2015. (Infographic)

Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper, HealthCentral.com, PsychCentral.com and the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Coop. Follow her on Twitter at @Lashandrow. You can also follow her on Facebook here

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